Us Involvement In The Korean War

In the aftermath of WWII, the United States found itself imbedded in a struggle to halt the expansion of communism. In doing so, the U.S. Military would be forced to protect its influence in nearby regions, its allies, and engage the communist forces of North Korea in 1950 and North Vietnam in 1965. In each of these initial engagements the U.S. Army, Task Force Smith in Korea and the 1st Air Cavalry Division in South Vietnam, stood heavily out-numbered against a very formidable enemy. Although being heavily outmanned influenced the efficacy of each U.S. Army engagement, it did not dictate the outcome. In this essay I will enumerate, not necessarily the course of events for each engagement, but rather the elements of contrast and similarity
(It is also important to mention here, that each engagement, and the officers commanding it, received degrees of intelligence and instruction from command and support networks; ADCOM in Korea and MACV in Vietnam.) In the Korean War, Lt. Col. Smith and Maj. Gen. Dean in each of their commands, intuitively chose good defensive positions against the enemy; the former at Osan, the latter in the defense around the Kum River. What is more, both these commanders, in each of their subsequent defensives, demonstrated resolve, holding their position until virtually overran, while personally and courageously fighting along-side their men, like Dean’s inspirational bazooka charge against approaching enemy tanks. In their gallant commands, Smith suffered from battle fatigue and Dean was captured. Regardless of their inspiring and courageous leadership, they were utterly outmanned, and in this instance, manpower dictated the course of